London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 21, 2026

Elections watchdog admits errors in reporting Tory donations

Elections watchdog admits errors in reporting Tory donations

The UK's election watchdog has admitted it previously incorrectly registered donations to the Conservative Party.

The Electoral Commission had reported that the party accepted £10,000 in November 2019 from a company dissolved three years prior.

But the watchdog has now said this was an "administrative error," adding the party had in fact reported a donation from a different firm.

It added it regretted "any confusion," and the record would be corrected.

Additionally, the commission said the Conservatives had advised them the party had "inaccurately reported" donations from another company.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: "We welcome this decision from the Electoral Commission and we will continue to work with them."

Earlier this week Labour called for the watchdog to investigate whether the donations had breached electoral transparency laws.

Under current legislation, parties may only accept donations from a UK-registered company if it "carries on business in the United Kingdom".

In its regular reporting of political donations, the commission said the Tories had accepted £10,000 from Stridewell Estates in November 2019.

Government records indicate that the firm had been dissolved three years earlier, in November 2016.

The commission said the party had in fact reported a donation from another firm, called Kirklee Property Company 2 Limited, and it had incorrectly confused the two because they shared the same address.

Official records show that company was set up in 2006 and is still active.

Business Insider, which first reported the story, has previously quoted a spokesman for Stridewell suggesting it could be a mistake.

Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds wrote to the commission earlier this week

The watchdog added that it was still working with the party to establish the details of donations from another company, Unionist Buildings Limited.

The commission has reported that the Tories accepted £6,000 from the firm in June 2017. Records show the firm was dissolved six months earlier, in January.

The commission said the Conservatives had admitted incorrectly reporting donations from that firm - but gave no further details.

It said it remained in contact with the party "so that we can publish the correct information and provide transparency to voters".

Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said: "This confirmation that the Conservatives inaccurately recorded a donation amounting to thousands of pounds raises more questions than it answers. We urgently need to know where that money came from."

Meanwhile, the commission has also admitted it incorrectly registered details of another donation to the Conservatives in late 2019.

It had previously said the party got £3,250 in December 2019 from a company called Landcap Development Eversley Ltd, which was disbanded 12 months prior.

But it said the party had in fact reported a donation from a still-active company, Landcap Limited. It again said it had confused the two businesses because they shared an address.

It is understood the watchdog discovered that error after the registered donation was brought to its attention.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Museum Faces Questions Over Peter Thiel’s Private Bayeux Tapestry Viewing
Earl Spencer Memoir Excerpts Renew Public Debate Over Diana’s Death
Liberal Democrats Gather in Brighton for Autumn Conference
Mothercare Shares Plunge as Middle East Store Closures Threaten Long-Term Solvency
Kent Police Treat Folkestone Hotel Fire as Suspicious
Caribbean Governments Advance Reparations Campaign Seeking Engagement With Britain
Scottish Labour Leader Backs Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea Projects
FCA Urges Young Adults to Trace £1.5 Billion in Unclaimed Child Trust Funds
UK Competition Regulator Opens Inquiry Into McCormick-Unilever Foods Deal
Public Inquiry Into Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Mental Health Failings Set to Begin
Nigel Farage Looks to US Immigration Enforcement Model for UK Border Policy
Chiltern Railways Moves Into Public Ownership
Security Review Raises Concerns Over Sensitive UK Police Data Stored on Microsoft Cloud
Burnham Government Warns of Difficult Autumn Budget as Fiscal Headroom Narrows
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Rises to 3.1%
Ed Sheeran Tour Faces Backlash After Macklemore Is Removed Over Pro-Palestinian Remarks
Vandalism of Traffic Cameras Intensifies Across Parts of England
Nearly 300 Evacuated as Fire Hits Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone
King Charles Warns AI Executives About Risks From Uncontrolled Technology
Church of England Apologises for Role in Historical Forced Adoption Practices
UK Debate Over Online Speech Intensifies After Arrest Figures Draw Scrutiny
Oxfordshire Village Holds Symbolic Independence Vote Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
Nigel Farage and Richard Tice Sue National Crime Agency Over Alleged Banking Data Leaks
Apple Introduces Stricter Age Checks for UK Accounts
BBC Cash Reserves Fall 66% to £125 Million as Broadcaster Restructures
McLaren Announces £500 Million UK Investment and Plans 1,000 Jobs
Green Party Wins Historic Gorton and Denton By-Election as Labour Falls to Third
Burnham Government Prepares October Budget Under Growing Fiscal Pressure
UK Energy Suppliers Pull Fixed-Price Deals as Wholesale Markets Turn More Volatile
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Shock Raises Inflation Risks
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20 Million UK Tax Tribunal Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Losses on About £190 Million of Debt
Harrods Seeks to Recover Abuse Compensation Costs From Mohamed Al Fayed’s Estate
Ed Davey Targets Reform UK as Liberal Democrat Conference Opens
Great Britain Retail Sales Rise 0.5% in August
NHS England Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Incurable Breast Cancer
Proposals to Limit NHS ADHD Diagnoses Draw Criticism From Patient Groups
Resolution Foundation Warns of Housing Cost Crunch for Low-Income UK Families
BBC Cash Reserves Fall to Decade Low as Annual Deficit Reaches £121 Million
Millisecond Software Error Triggered Major UK Air Traffic Control Disruption
Twenty Women Underwent Unnecessary Mastectomies During NHS Cancer Care
Sensitive UK Police Data Found Vulnerable to Access by Foreign Actors
British Steel Faces Renewed Pressure for a Long-Term Financial Plan
MPs Urge Government to End Thames Water Restructuring Talks With U.S. Hedge Funds
Andy Burnham Warns of Difficult UK Budget Choices as Inflation Returns to 3.1%
England Tightens School Food Standards With Restrictions on Deep-Fried and High-Sugar Foods
Oxfordshire Village Votes Symbolically to Leave UK Over Proposed Asylum Centre
Michael Marra Elected Leader of Scottish Labour
BBC Cash Reserves Fall Sharply as Financial Pressures Mount
George Osborne Calls for UK to Rejoin EU Customs Union
×